I moved to Riomaggiore on Sunday afternoon to a lovely apartment on the main street. Roberto, the apartment manager, also met me at the train station and helped me lug my bags up some super steep stairs that put my 5 floor walk up on 29th Street to shame. Everyone goes for the smaller one, but Stanley is so much lighter, there’s nothing to him, that is until I start buying wine and stuffing him with bottles protected by my empty socks. My work bag has a laptop, iPad, various plugs, chargers and converters, my camera and sometimes it has food I haven’t finished in another apartment. It also has my mandals and irreplaceable clothes I don’t want to lose in case Stanley goes missing.
I can’t make up my mind which of these villages is my favorite, I really love them all. Giovanni said I’d love Manarola, I read that Corniglia is the best and I read somewhere else that Vernazza is by far greater than the rest. I think I love them all equally, each has a distinct character and I found it hard to tear myself away from any of them.
Street in the back my cute apartmentI want to live somewhere that has alleys like thisAnd this…Church of San Giovanni BattistaReminded me of Mezquita in CordobaSo gorgeousPresepes everywhere!Follow the life size biblical characters……and their livestockSunday afternoon in RiomaggioreOratorio di Santa Maria AssuntaVery pretty Sunday afternoon in the Riomaggiorean sun at Fuori RottaRavioli stuffed with shrimp over pureed turnips with pancetta and turnip greens.Amazing.FrescoAnother al fresco frescoThe light was so hypnotic hereView toward ManarolaThe majesty of treesJust can’t get enough of the seaAnd colorful buildings with cliff backdropsNeighborsSanta the stripperPretty alleysWith archesAnd steep streetsAnd multi-lingual signs I think I would like to be a fisherpersonSurreal and everywhereNever went here…it looked fun thoughI did have a cone of fried fish one day. Not my best choice, but suckered by good packagingMy streetOh yeah, my street was most people’s streetOff the main square where kids played soccer and set off illegal fireworksHidden arches around every cornerHarbor sunsetThe light at this time of the day makes me take too many picturesAmateur sunset (taken before Corniglia sunsetmania)Boats in the sea at sunset are cool thoughSee, being a fisherperson looks greatMy street at nightI never ate thereI wish I could get a shot of this town from a boatThe colors at sunset are even warmer than usualSo what do I do my first night in Riomaggiore?I go back to Manarola for dinnerFor this…it was worth it.Still prettyLove this, forgot to make it my profile picWalk up the hill for old time’s sakeTake some pics I didn’t take when I lived there yesterdayCappun Magru at night, this was a cute little cafe close to Giovanni’s apartment.Arrivederci for real now Manarola!
Wanting to start 2020 off on the right foot, literally, I was still going to try and do that hike, but in reverse…from Vernazza to Monterosso where the climb us is a little longer and although I’m imagining the descent isn’t as spectacular as Corniglia (or Vernazza) I’m sure it’s gorgeous. But of course Vernazza was just as captivating as Monterosso and I meandered way too long in way too many parts of town. So I did do a 1/2 hike on what I think was the Sentiero Azzurro. I forgot to ask the park person at Vernazza, but think that path was technically closed anyway. After hiking up the long, dark stairway from the marina and following the signs to Monterosso, I saw quite a few hikers climbing up and coming down and there was no one with a gun to stop us so I walked a little, then walked a little more and then walked a little more telling myself if the path looked dodgy anywhere I’d just turn around. Who knows I may have been on the Sentiero Rosso. But did get a beautiful New Year’s Day climb up through the vineyards above with gorgeous views of Vernazza below.
I might need this laterInteresting public sculptureKinda randomHaunting streetsMarina buildingsMy favorite staircase…stairway to MonterossoCan’t help taking pics of all these buildingsI’d like to know what those bridges areI’m sure they have some structural purposeMaybe they stop the buildings from leaning too much into each otherI don’t know, but I love themClearly…So many narrow streetsNice view of Church of San Francesco and surrounding buildingsPopular restaurant in the marina but I was too full o’ focacciaAnother streetStairs everywhereThis one is my favoriteYeah, I think it’s to stop buildings from collapsing into each otherOr to hang street lamps fromI don’t know why I chose thisStreet up to the Ana Doria CastleAnother street up to castle11th Century castle with Belforte Tower is iconic View from castle Following fishermenI wanna fish!Beautiful view towards MonterossoBack on the streetsEvery turn is better than the lastI think these buildings need one of those thingamajigsI should probably know what they are from all those art history and architecture classes I tookI know, I went a little crazy with the Vernazza street picsSo when I first saw this, I thought Gianni was a place to walk to and that one way was 41 minutes and the other was 47 minutes…….it wasn’t. It’s a hotel in Vernazza and those are the addressesHmmm, this looks familiarLovely doorNon potable water by the marina rocksChiesa di Santa Margherita, 11th or 12th CenturyUnique nativity, path made with plastic bottlesSome more streetsAnd archesAnd stairsYeah, I know, I’m posting too many of this oneOkay, time to hike to MonterossoWalking to higher townLooking for pathLove this!And thisThere we goNice views close to townSo colorfulClose up, close to townOn the right trackNever get tired of signsVery nice pathMostly stone so far, nothing scary yetLove these natural archesPretty steady ascentSome more viewsGetting higherAnd higherThis is the first time I saw this type of sign which makes me think I was on the Sentiero AzzurroAnother pretty pathI wonder if he fell close to hereComing back Just in case I didn’t get a good shot beforeLittle guest house on the pathBack in townDon’t think I got this street yetOr this oneLove these SantasVernazza’s boulder beachNice views toward CornigliaLa Torre? I still can’t find any info about this monumentTown above beachMore townStrings of lights on these streets at night are so nice Cool buildingsWalking up to La TorreUp up upThis is a pretty big townHmmm, maybe I can get there in time for sunsetLa Torre?View from this thing is greatLotsa TorreNo TorreNo Torre, less seaStill trying to get best shotA little more skyGetting it all inLight it so niceDetail on local houseCinque Terre delicacies in beautiful buildingCiao VernazzoBack to Riomaggiore for SunsetMy fave, looks like a ship!
Spent a glorious week exploring these beautiful villages and still feel like I missed so much. There are sanctuaries in each village and I didn’t get to see one of them! Maybe next year…Portugal next stop!
